News / Health
Doctors using Coca-Cola to treat painful stomach condition
08 Jan 2013 at 05:25hrs | Views
Doctors are sparing patients from surgery by using Coca-Cola to treat a painful stomach condition.
They say the fizzy drink is highly effective at dealing with a condition known as a gastric phytobezoar.
This is a stomach blockage which, unless successfully removed or destroyed, can lead to a bowel obstruction.
It is often caused by certain fruits which do not digest properly.
Various treatments are available from lasers and non-surgical endoscopies to the last resort of full surgery.
New research now shows that Coca-Cola has a success rate of more than 90% in treating the condition.
This is because its chemical ingredients do a similar job to gastric acid in helping to digest fibre, while the bubbles help speed up the process.
Even the Diet and Coke Zero options work, because they have the same basic ingredients as the original version, according to the report published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Researchers from the University of Athens found 46 patients with the ailment were treated with coca-cola in hospitals around the world in the last 10 years.
Of those given Coca-Cola, half saw the drink destroy the blockage completely and a further 19 only needed non-invasive treatments as a result of Coke's help.
Only four needed full surgery, giving Coca-Cola a success rating of 91.3%.
The study said: "Coca-Cola administration is a cheap, easy-to-perform and safe procedure that can be accomplished at any endoscopy unit."
They say the fizzy drink is highly effective at dealing with a condition known as a gastric phytobezoar.
This is a stomach blockage which, unless successfully removed or destroyed, can lead to a bowel obstruction.
It is often caused by certain fruits which do not digest properly.
Various treatments are available from lasers and non-surgical endoscopies to the last resort of full surgery.
New research now shows that Coca-Cola has a success rate of more than 90% in treating the condition.
This is because its chemical ingredients do a similar job to gastric acid in helping to digest fibre, while the bubbles help speed up the process.
Even the Diet and Coke Zero options work, because they have the same basic ingredients as the original version, according to the report published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Researchers from the University of Athens found 46 patients with the ailment were treated with coca-cola in hospitals around the world in the last 10 years.
Of those given Coca-Cola, half saw the drink destroy the blockage completely and a further 19 only needed non-invasive treatments as a result of Coke's help.
Only four needed full surgery, giving Coca-Cola a success rating of 91.3%.
The study said: "Coca-Cola administration is a cheap, easy-to-perform and safe procedure that can be accomplished at any endoscopy unit."
Source - Mirror
